Indonesian police release two anti-graft officials

Nov 4, 2009, 5:12 GMT

   Jakarta - Indonesian police on Wednesday released two anti-corruption officials charged with abuse of power after a court played wiretapped recordings of phone conversations allegedly discussing a plot to frame them.

   Police last week arrested Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto, two of four deputy chiefs of the Corruption Eradication Commission, for allegedly abusing their power and accepting bribes in investigating a graft case involving a businessman.

   The Consitutional Court on Tuesday played the recordings, in which a person believed to be the brother of businessman Anggoro Widjoyo discussed ways to save the suspect from prosecution with a senior state prosecutor and police investigators.

   The alleged plotters also discussed evidence of bribery that could be used against commission officials investigating the businessman and spoke of cash and gifts for senior officials supporting the effort.

   Anti-graft activists said the recordings were proof of a conspiracy involving senior officials in the Attorney General's Office, the national police and the businessman's brother.

   The commission officials were released from police detention shortly after midnight.

   'The detention has been deferred, taking into account greater interests,' national police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said.

   But he said the case would continue and the court would decide whether they were innocent or guilty.

   The case has become a major headache for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after one of the people on the tape spoke of presidential approval for the arrest of the commissioners.

   Yudhoyono has ordered a full inquiry into the recordings and set up an independent panel to investigate the case.

   The panel recommended Tuesday that Hamzah and Riyanto be released.

   The arrest of Hamzah and Riyanto prompted an outpouring of public support for the two commissioners, who have denied any wrongdoing and claimed they were being framed.

   Hundreds of people on Monday took to the streets of Jakarta and more than 600,000 people have joined a page on the internet networking site Facebook in support of the commissioners.

   The commission's former chairman, Antasari Azhar, is now facing trial for allegedly orchestrating a murder, charges he has denied.

   The commission was created in 2003 to tackle endemic graft with the power to arrest and prosecute suspects.

   It has met with widespread public approval for a series of successful prosecutions against legislators, governors, former ministers, one prosecutor and central bank top officials, including an in-law of Yudhoyono.